Bai and Scott to Meet at Snooker Shoot Out
The draw for the 2025 9Club Snooker Shoot Out has been made and reigning World Women’s Snooker (WWS) champion Bai Yulu will face 14-year-old WPBSA nominee Ellise Scott in the opening round.
China’s Bai, who recently made history with a break of 145 at the International Championship – the highest ever by a female in professional competition, is making her second appearance at the Shoot Out having reached the second round 12 months ago by defeating Jamie Clarke.
This year, she will face Scott as the teenager makes her professional debut at the Tower Circus in Blackpool next month.
As the number one ranked player on the WWS Tour’s Under-21 ranking list at the time of the nominations, Scott has been selected as a WPBSA nomination to compete alongside the sport’s biggest names at the popular Blackpool venue.
Scott said: “I’m very excited [to be playing at the Shoot Out], I was nervous when I found out who I was playing, but since I know her, I feel more confident because I’ve seen her at women’s competitions and I will feel more comfortable.”
“I think it will suit me. I am a fast player so it will be a lot of fun to play at the Shoot Out. It will be a good game. I like watching it because it’s 10 minutes, not an hour-long game but it’s still challenging. The players are attacking, they don’t want to play safe because they need the points, so I’m looking forward to it” she added.
It marks only the second time that two female players have gone head-to-head in a World Snooker Tour (WST) ranking event, following Mink Nutcharut’s 4-2 victory over Reanne Evans at last year’s English Open.
Twelve-time world champion Evans is also among the Shoot Out line-up, taking on Mohamed Shehab from the UAE, while Hong Kong China’s Ng On Yee has been drawn against former UK and Masters winner Mark Allen in Blackpool.
The World Snooker Tour (WST) ranking event, which was won last year by Tom Ford, will take place on 10-13 December and will once again include 128 players and feature a unique set of rules, with all matches played over a maximum of ten minutes, and a shot clock of 15 seconds for the first five minutes and ten seconds for the last five.
Tickets for the four-day tournament are on sale now and offer the chance to see a wide range of top players and experience the unique atmosphere which only this event can offer. For details click here.
